


Missing

by jawlines (TYJS)



Category: BLACKPINK (Band)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-07-02 17:52:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 8,368
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15801600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TYJS/pseuds/jawlines
Summary: Something goes missing, and Jennie somehow finds herself caught up in the middle of it.





	1. Warning

Running. Running, running, running.

 

Have I ever told you how much I hate it?

 

Especially right now, in PE.

 

I never understood how running in circles around a dusty track, probably getting dirt in your eyes by some motherfucker in front of you kicking way too high, would help you.

 

I glared at a girl blazing by me, her pale muscular legs obvious in contrast with the black PE uniform shorts.

 

Kim Jisoo. Most popular girl in school. Guys _and_ girls would kill to go on a date with her. What wasn’t there to like? Gorgeous, intelligent, athletic, and had a likeable personality.

 

At least, that’s what most people think.

 

To me, Kim Jisoo will always be a complete asshole. Fake and sweet on the outside, but inside, I swear she’s rotten to the core.

 

I mean, I’ve never talked to her before. Just seen her. You know those classmates that you just _know_ , but you never talk to? She was one of _those_ people. But you can just _feel_ it, you know what I mean? That sugary sweet voice and those big puppy eyes—what a load of _bull_.

 

I rolled my eyes in her direction and continued to focus on not tripping and falling flat on my face.

 

Because _that’d_ be embarrassing, _especially_ in front of that despicable Kim Jisoo. I’d never hear the end of it from my friends.

 

I successfully made it through the rest of the four laps, albeit with lots of swearing in my head, and slowed to a walk once I crossed the finish line.

 

“7:46,” our PE teacher with the potbelly yelled.

 

Rose, who had finished a little earlier, walked towards me. “Hey, Jennie.”

 

I held up one hand, the other on my knee, and gasped a little, trying to catch my breath.

 

“One...sec…”

 

She patiently waited as my heartbeat returned to a slightly more normal rate.

 

“Okay, you can talk now.”

 

“You know that museum a few miles away from the school?”

 

I frowned. “Yeah, what about it?”

 

“There’s a diamond missing apparently.”

 

“So what? It’s just a diamond. Can’t be that big of a deal.”

 

“No, no, no. You don’t understand. It’s the museum’s most priceless artifact apparently. It’s like...huge news.”

 

I shrugged. “That’s what they get for shit security. Sucks to suck.”

 

She sighed in impatience. “It was guarded by top-notch security systems, Jennie. Apparently it’s super important, you remember when the president came to our city? It was because of that. The CIA had a hand in its security too. Think about it. Someone was able to get through the security. We’re not talking local news, we’re talking _national_.”

 

I frowned. “But it’s just a stupid diamond.”

 

My thoughts were interrupted when Lisa jogged over toward us.

 

“Hey,” she greeted us. “Tonight. Party at my place. You guys down?”

 

“What’s the occasion?” I asked, still wiping the sweat on my face with my shirt.

 

“Nothing. It’s Friday, dude, time to relax!” Lisa grinned. “We can always find a reason to celebrate anyways. Like that **—** what was it? A diamond? That thingamabob being stolen. There’s the occasion.”

 

“Why does everyone know about that except for me?” I scowled. “Do I live under a rock or something?”

 

“Yes,” the two said loudly in unison.

 

“Shut up.”

 

* * *

 

Quickly changing from my gross PE uniform into a plain shirt and shorts, I was hurriedly tying my converse shoes when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

 

“For the final time,” I sighed, turning my head over my shoulder. “I will not help you bomb—oh.”

 

And there was Kim Jisoo, standing in all her glory. Her purple hair fell naturally upon her shoulders, the hair tie once holding her hair together wrapped around her wrist; she was still in her gym clothes, sweat evidently glistening on her neck, and she looked annoyingly gorgeous when she wasn’t supposed to.

 

My stomach started to churn nervously for some reason—probably from all the _obvious_ fakeness bleeding from her. Obviously.

 

“Oh—sorry—I just thought—you were Rose and she keeps asking me to bom—,” I stumbled on my words. “Ah forget it, um, sorry, what did you need?”

 

Jisoo chuckled. “It’s alright—I was just wondering if you were going to Lisa’s party today?” she asked with a shy smile. In my dehydrated, exhausted state of mind from all the running, I almost felt like I had heard a small tone of hope in her question. But then again—I was dehydrated and about to pass out.

 

“Umm...I think so. I don’t think I have anything else to do.” God damn it. I didn’t have anything else to do.

 

She flashed her painfully flawless smile. “Great! I’ll see you there, then!” And with a small wave, she strided back to her locker. Because Kim Jisoo doesn’t even walk normally like other people—like everything else she does, it has to be _better_ than normal. I shook my head. God damn it. Why didn’t I have anything else to do today?

 

* * *

 

8:00. Rose would be coming any second to pick me up and go to Lisa’s place for her cursed party. Now don’t get me wrong. I love parties. Okay, maybe that was a stretch. But I don’t mind going to them—as long as no one attending is named Kim Jisoo. But who am I kidding. Is it even considered a party if the most popular girl in school isn’t even there?

 

I glanced at the clock on my dresser. 8:01.

 

I took another peek at the mirror hanging on the bedroom wall. I had chosen to dress simple today. A black off-the-shoulder top, and black shorts. Normally, I’d wear heels to make up for my annoyingly short height, but today I really wasn’t in the mood to kill all the nerves in my feet for a stupid party. I settled on a pair of Vans. Last was a silver necklace my grandmother had given to me when I was young—I wore it everyday.

 

8:02.

 

The doorbell rang. There she was.

 

I quickly grabbed my bag from the bed and rushed to the front door.

 

“I’ll be home by midnight,” I yelled in the general direction of my parents’ personal offices.

 

With luck, I’d be home even before then. It was time to get a party over with.

 

* * *

 

“Guys, you made it!” Lisa shouted happily over the booming music and the drunken yells of the other high school students as Rose and I stepped through the front door of the Manobans’ house—or rather, their mansion, I should say.

 

Rose and I squeezed our way through the countless sweaty bodies and on the way, I stepped in a suspicious white puddle of liquid **—** which I’m telling myself was milk. Because milk at a high school party makes sense.

 

Unconsciously, my eyes started to skim the crowd for a familiar face, but I strangely found no one.

 

After shoving our way through the crowd, we finally reached Lisa at the other end of the room.

 

“Where are your parents?” Rose asked curiously over the deafening music.

 

“They went out for a business trip! The place is all ours for tonight and maybe even tomorrow,” Lisa responded with a wicked grin.

 

“Tomorrow, huh?” Rose smirked knowingly. Oh God. That was my signal to go and get away from the two lovebirds.

 

I wandered around the place, in search of more alcohol.

 

When I had felt like I had drunk enough to be able to get through the night, I finally found a couch that wasn’t occupied by a couple that was fucking or _about_ to fuck.

 

I collapsed upon the couch, my eyes threatening to close.

 

But no, I couldn’t. An unconscious 17 year old girl at a high school party? That’s a big no no.

 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, another girl sat next to me on the couch.

 

Oh. Look who it is. Kim Jisoo. What a big surprise.

 

I frowned. She smiled that freakishly gorgeous smile with those freakishly gorgeous teeth. She faced me, sitting with her legs crossed on top of the couch, wearing her oversized white shirt, black skinny jeans, and high top Converse. It should’ve been illegal to look that good in such plain clothing, but when did Kim Jisoo ever follow the goddamn rules?

 

“Hey Jennie,” she smiled softly.

 

I knit my eyebrows in an attempt to focus. It was a bit difficult with all the alcohol in my blood.

 

“I,” I started to speak, but for some reason, my mouth couldn’t produce enough saliva to say anything at the moment.

 

She raised her eyebrows in amusement.

 

“I’m. I’m not. Not drunk. No. Not drunk.”

 

She laughed. It was like a refreshing splash of cool water for my muddled mind, and the dull buzz in my head seemed to clear for just a while. Jesus Christ. Her laugh had sobering properties. What else did God give her? Lazer eyes that could burn her enemies?

 

“Okay, Jennie. Whatever you say.”

 

I frowned. I do that a lot, if you haven’t noticed.

 

“Why are you talking to me?”

 

She looked at me, her bright eyes seeming to look deep into my soul.

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“We’ve never talked to each other before. Like. Like. Like never. Never ever ever.”

 

She chuckled. “Never ever ever, huh? Well, maybe it’s time to change that, don’t you think?”

 

“Hm,” I grunted unceremoniously in response.

 

She continued the small talk. From topics like the weather to what she ate for breakfast today. For some reason, I couldn’t help but notice the fact that she hadn’t brought up the diamond in today’s news. After all, it _was_ all I heard people ever talk about since this morning.

 

She must’ve noticed my lack of response, because she smiled again. “How drunk are you right now?”

 

“I said. I’m. Not. Drunk,” I slurred on my words, to further support my already very convincing argument.

 

“You know, it can be dangerous if you drink too much,” she said with a concerned expression on her face. And with that, I couldn’t help but feel a sudden tension rise. Her tone was different. But in my hazy state of mind, I couldn’t exactly put a finger on what it was that changed.

 

I frowned, putting all my power into trying to stay focused.

 

I looked at her, my vision swimming hazily, her face blurring before my eyes. Something different was in her face. It still held that concerned, and worried expression...but it was peculiar.

 

Something wasn’t right. I rubbed my eyes.

 

Jisoo spoke again. “Jennie, think about everything that could happen if you were too drunk. You could get into an accident,” she said, with the same troubled face. “It’s a dangerous world. You could get yourself into situations you never thought even existed in the first place. Be careful, Jennie.”

 

My eyes were threatening to close. Cursed alcohol.

 

Before blacking out, I remember only the face of Kim Jisoo staring into my eyes, leaning slightly over me as I faded into sleep, my body sinking into the armrest of the couch.

 

“Be careful,” she said softly, her tone shifting from worried to dangerous.

 

I finally figured out what was so weird about her voice.

 

It was a warning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! hope you enjoyed that! please tell me what you think of it so far! i'm always down to improve. :) 
> 
> reminder that I am also posting this on asianfanfics, so you can go check it out here!
> 
> https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1361995/missing-action-rose-jisoo-jennie-lisa-blackpink-jensoo


	2. Hangover

I woke up in a daze.

 

My mind was foggy as I attempted to pull myself together. I squinted and rubbed my eyes as I slowly rose to a sitting position, my elbows set behind me to support my weight. I blinked a few times to clear my vision and get my surroundings in check.

 

It was dark, but not pitch black.  A soft ray of light peeked through the navy blue curtains hanging in front of the window.

 

Daybreak.

 

I ran my hands through the bedsheets underneath me. Silk.

 

I turned to my left to find no naked body in sight, breathing a soft sigh of relief. Looking down at myself, I found my clothes to be the same as the ones I wore last night.

 

I scanned the room briefly. Simple. It was decorated, but there were no pictures of anyone, no slight mess, no laundry basket with dirty clothing. No sign of anyone living here.

 

I was in a guest room. Probably Lisa’s house, considering the silk sheets and the satin curtains.

 

I shifted my weight onto the palms of my hands, and slowly swung my legs over the side of the bed. Exhaling softly, I stood on my bare feet, the cold wooden planks of the floor sending shivers down my spine.

 

I quietly walked towards the door, on the balls of my feet, careful not to make a sound. Twisting the knob, I cracked the door open to find a hallway, leading towards a closed door. Light seeped from the crack underneath the door, and I heard loud muffled voices from the room on the other side. I silently crept down the hall and leaned my ear on the door slightly.

 

“That’s _my_ sandwich, I literally made it myself, can’t you ma—?” Lisa’s voice rang loud and clear, from what I assumed was the kitchen.

 

“Can’t you share? Sharing is caring, isn’t it?” A second voice whined—Rose was still here.

 

“Guess I don’t care, do I?” came the sarcastic response.

 

I opened the door, slightly wincing from the sudden brightness of the artificial light.

 

Lisa and Rose looked up simultaneously, with Lisa holding a plate with a sandwich on top and Rose suspiciously looking as if she was going to steal it.

 

Lisa grinned. “Morning, sleepyhead.”

 

“Why are you guys awake?” I yawned. “It’s like, 6 or something. Oh, and do you have my phone?”

 

“Yeah,” Rose nodded with a muffled voice full of sandwich.

 

Lisa gasped. “My sandwich!”

 

“Here,” Rose said, ignoring Lisa. She wiped her hands on a towel, and slipped my phone out of the back pocket of her jeans. “It fell out of your pocket when we carried you to the guest room. No cracks though, don’t worry.”

 

I winced as I walked across the room towards the two. “Carried me, huh?”

 

She chuckled humorously. “Yeah. You were _out_. Do you remember anything?”

 

I frowned in concentration. “No, not really. Oh, wait. One thing. I talked to Kim Jisoo.”

 

Lisa looked up interestedly. “Really? But you’ve never talked to her before. And don’t you have that weird, unreasonable grudge against her?”

 

“Excuse me,” I protested. “It’s a perfectly reasonable thing to be careful of strangers. Plus, it’s just not possible for someone to be liked by _everyone_. I’m just being cautious.”

 

“Mm,” Rose hummed, apparently unconvinced.

 

I sighed. “Anyways, it was...weird. Well, no. Not really. Only at the end. But honestly, the fact that she even talked to me in the first place was weird. Literally who does that? Just randomly sitting down with a stranger and saying hi.”

 

“You guys technically aren’t strangers,” Rose pointed out. “You’ve had classes with each other for how many years? Three and a half years? I’m surprised you haven’t even talked to her once up until now, to be honest.”

 

“Plus, she’s social,” Lisa interjected. “She’s outgoing—I mean, of course she is, being the most popular girl in school. It’s not weird for _her_ to greet someone and make friends—it’s honestly just a _you_ problem.”

 

“Thanks,” I said dryly. “Anyways, I swear, it got weird at the end. Like...I don’t know. I can’t explain it.”

 

Lisa raised an eyebrow. “You sure it wasn’t just your stubborn and illogical paranoia of all things related to Jisoo?”

 

“No,” I insisted. “It was _actually_ weird.”

 

“Like how?” Rose asked.

 

“Like...weird,” I struggled to find any words that could fit our conversation last night.

 

“Thanks, Jennie, that just cleared everything all up.” Rose dryly responded.

 

I sighed.

 

“You know,” Lisa said thoughtfully. “You _were_ pretty drunk last night. How much beer did you drink?”

 

“I don’t know...a couple of bottles?”

 

“That’s enough to knock you out if you drink them fast enough. It was probably just your mind playing tricks on you,” she advised. “I wouldn’t worry too much. Plus, it’s Jisoo. I know her better than either of you. She’s nice. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be so well liked, would she?”

 

“I guess,” I said reluctantly. “By the way, how _do_ you know Jisoo better than either of us? We’ve literally been in the same classes.”

 

Rose also turned curiously toward Lisa. “Yeah, I’ve never asked you that before.”

 

“Because I’m not an awkward piece of shit like you guys are,” Lisa laughed. She stood up. “I needa go to the bathroom. Jennie, you should call your parents.”

 

“Oh crap,” I realized. “Ah, whatever, they probably barely noticed I was gone.”

 

Lisa continued, “I’ll drive you home when I get back. Rose, can you help her make sure she has everything? You know how clueless she can get.”

 

“Hey,” I protested.

 

Rose nodded in agreement. “Got it.”

 

* * *

 

I stepped into Lisa’s car, and slumped into the back seat, my head still throbbing slightly from the hangover.

 

During the drive, I couldn’t help but think I was forgetting something, even though Rose and I had triple and even quadruple checked that I had everything. I voiced my thoughts aloud, only to quickly get shut down.

 

“You’re being paranoid again, Jennie. We literally checked like 37 times,” Rose assured me.

 

“We checked _four_ times,” I muttered, slightly disgruntled.

 

“Same thing.”

 

“Not really.”

 

“Shut up.”

 

* * *

 

When we arrived, I clambered out the car clumsily, cursing myself mentally for drinking such a ridiculous amount of beer yesterday.

 

“Have fun with your hangover,” Lisa remarked brightly.

 

“Shut up.”

 

“Call us if you need anything!”

 

“Mm.”

 

“We’ll probably answer. Probably.”

 

“I know.”

 

Removing my keys from my back pocket, I unlocked the front door, deliberately stepping quietly into the house. I swiftly walked to my room, and dropped my keys onto my desk as I walked through the door.

 

I frowned. I still had that funny feeling that I had lost something, or left something at Lisa’s place.

 

Phone, check. Keys, check. Hair tie, check. I sighed frustratedly. Maybe I _was_ being paranoid.

 

I sat down on my armchair, and pulled myself to my desk, turning my laptop on. As the device warmed up, I gazed lazily at my reflection in the black screen. I waited a while, before I realized.

 

My necklace was gone.

 

* * *

 

“Lisa, doyouknowwheremynecklaceis?” I asked panickedly, slightly out of breath.

 

“Woah, woah, woah, calm down, talk slower,” Lisa laughed lightly over the phone.

 

“My necklace. Have you seen it?”

 

“Necklace? Oh, the one you always wear? No, why? Don’t you have it with you?”

 

“No, it’s gone. Lisa, could you check please?” I asked urgently, running my fingers through my hair in frustration.

 

“Of course, of course,” Lisa’s tone became concerned. “I’m not home right now, but I’ll be there in an hour or so. Just hang on a bit, yeah? I’m sure it’s there somewhere.”

 

“Right, right. Call me if you find it please.”

 

“Of course.”

 

I hung up the call, and took a deep breath.

 

I couldn’t afford to lose this necklace. It was too valuable—not only in terms of money—but in sentimental value. My grandmother had given it to me.

 

My grandmother’s name was Jennie too—I had been named after her, and I couldn’t have asked for something better. I remembered visiting her house often when I was young, and she would take care of me better than my parents had, to be honest, since they were too busy to take care of their only daughter.

 

She would tell stories of her life, and to this day, I still had no idea whether or not they were true. They ranged from working secretly as a spy for the Korean government to escaping from the highest security jail in Seoul. Naturally, my brain told me these stories were complete bogus—but my grandmother had told them with such spirit and passion, I couldn’t help but wonder. And she always had a twinkle in her eyes during her tellings—a knowing look—filled with mystery and mischief.

 

She passed away three years ago, and per her request in her will, was buried in Korea, so I never had the chance to visit her. Nevertheless, she had left me with the silver necklace she had given me when I was merely 10 years old, as well as a bank vault that could only be disclosed to me when I turned 18, which again, was per her (strange) request.

 

I needed the necklace—it’s sentimental value was absolutely priceless, and I couldn’t afford to lose it at all costs.

 

I was still baffled at how it was lost in the first place. I _never_ took it off— unless I went swimming or took a shower—and due to the fact that I had been intoxicated to the point of passing out last night, I doubt my coordination would have even _allowed_ for me to unfasten the tiny hook that I still struggled with sober.

 

I frowned. There was something abnormal about this. I couldn’t have taken it off myself. That left two options. One, it had simply broke. Two, someone had taken it off of me.

 

I was leaning towards the latter.

 

Over the 7 years I had owned this necklace, it had never broken. Its chain was made of titanium, and the tiny silver key shaped pendant that hung from it was made of platinum (I had it checked a couple of years ago). Someone _had_ to had taken it off.

 

And I had a feeling I knew who it was.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed that chapter ! i post this same story on asianfanfics ! if you wanna check it out, here's the link !
> 
> https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1361995/missing-action-rose-jisoo-jennie-lisa-blackpink-jensoo
> 
> don't forget to let me know what you think in the comments ! constructive criticism is welcome :)


	3. Confrontation

I stepped into my first period class with an air of determination.

 

Today, I would confront Kim Jisoo.

 

This wasn’t very characteristic of me, to be perfectly honest. I didn’t normally speak my mind, even in circumstances where I should’ve, so this was a bit new to me. Under normal circumstances, I probably would have shrugged it off, and bought a new necklace.

 

However, this situation was different. It had been two days, Lisa couldn’t seem to find the necklace at her place even after searching everywhere, and at this point, I was about to go insane. So I had decided to confront Kim Jisoo.

 

Was I nervous? Absolutely.

 

Was I scared? Frankly, I would rather have been forced to drive a tractor into a wall at 90 miles per hour than do what I was planning to do today.

 

But it was necessary.

 

The next time I would see Kim Jisoo was fourth period. Calculus.

 

Operation Confrontation was officially on.

 

* * *

 

Sitting through the first three periods was probably the most difficult thing I’ve ever had to do.

 

The time somehow seemed to tick at the rate of a crawling turtle, yet simultaneously go at the speed of a race car.

 

I was nervous, to say the least. My stomach did backflips the entire time I sat at my desk, and I was unable to properly pay attention to the teacher’s lecture, due to a daunting feeling of wanting to vomit.

 

Yet, I was eager. Today, I would be standing up for myself for the first time in years. I wasn’t going to take Jisoo’s shit today. I wasn’t going to take _anyone’s_ shit today. Today was _my_ day.

 

The bell rang, signalling that it was time to switch periods. I hurriedly closed my notebook (not that I was really taking notes in the first place), and stuffed it in my grey backpack, slinging it over my shoulder as I rushed through the classroom door.

 

I reached my fourth period classroom in record time, and dumped my backpack on top of my desk, slumping into the chair. I eyed the desk two seats in front of mine, one seat to the left. 

 

I took a deep breath.

 

I was going to do this. Yes, I was. I couldn’t back out now. If I did, that would have been a complete waste of my time worrying about this exact moment for the last three hours. No, I was going to do this, and it didn’t matter if I ended up wetting my pants in the process.

 

She arrived about two minutes after I had. I peered at her from behind my backpack apprehensively, as she strode to her desk (because Kim Jisoo doesn’t walk like normal people do), wearing a simple black sweatshirt and light blue jeans.

 

I glanced at her neck. She had a black choker on, but no sign of my necklace.

 

I bit my lip. If I accused her of taking my necklace, and she hadn’t taken it, I would be screwed. Dead, in fact.

 

Death from embarrassment.

 

Huh. I wasn’t a huge fan of the idea.

 

I groaned internally. I was second thinking myself, and I knew that meant that the confident Jennie who had walked through those school doors was long gone, replaced by old, needs-to-grow-a-pair-of-balls Jennie.

 

I ended up never asking her about the necklace the entire period.

 

* * *

 

I had one more chance.

 

Just one.

 

Sixth period PE.

 

If I couldn’t confront her when she was sweaty and wearing the ugliest PE uniform in the entire world, then I could forget about confronting her at any other time.

 

The entire class stood on the football field, waiting for Mr. Potbelly’s instructions.

 

“I want 12 laps by the end of the period,” he said gruffly. “Go. No excuses.”

 

With a collective groan, we trudged toward the track. I ran to catch up with Lisa and Rose, who were discussing the pros and cons of having a kangaroo as a pet.

 

In between the bickering, I glanced over to Jisoo, who was laughing at a joke her friend had made. Kim Taeyeon, I think it was? Frankly, I wasn’t very good with names.

 

We started jogging when we reached the dreaded red rubber of the track, where I knew that in mere minutes, my legs would be silently screaming out of desperation.

 

I glanced at Jisoo again. I let out a small scoff. Her and her stupid _athleticism_.

 

_Wow, look at me, I’m Kim Jisoo and I work out at the gym everyday—_

 

“Hey, you ok? I think you have some drool over here at the corner of your mouth—”

 

My thoughts were interrupted by Rose’s teasing voice, a smirk plastered on her face.

 

I frowned.

 

“Shut up. I was just thinking.”

 

“Mhm, not ogling a certain someone at all.”

 

I rolled my eyes, ignoring Rose and Lisa’s laughs.

 

My legs were beginning to give way at this point, and I knew I would never be able to confront Kim Jisoo while panting with my lungs sounding like they were being killed by a banshee.

 

Plus, I couldn’t catch up with her anyways.

 

Now, if she were to _lap_ me, which was, frankly, very probable, that would be a whole nother story.

 

I decided to wait until the end of the period to ask her. Then, I wouldn’t be wheezing so loudly that the other side of the world could wake up.

 

* * *

 

When the coach finally blew the whistle, I immediately looked around for Jisoo, pretending I wasn’t secretly stealing glances at her every 5 minutes.

 

“I need to ask coach something, I’ll meet you at the lockers,” I called out to Lisa and Rose, who were already on their way back up to the locker room.

 

They nodded and gave me a thumbs up before turning back around to probably bicker about kangaroos again.

 

I jogged lightly towards Jisoo, who was helping the coach pick up leftover cones from last period’s PE class.

 

I swallowed. My stomach seemed to be churning, and I couldn’t tell if it was from lunch or me being nervous.

 

Probably the latter.

 

I exhaled. No. I was going to do this, and I was going to do this properly. No more nervous, quiet Jennie. I was going to be aggressive, and confrontational, and—

 

“Hey.”

 

Crap.

 

“Oh, uhm, hi,” I replied quickly, all previous confidence seeming to seep out of my body. Convenient.

 

“I was just helping out a bit,” Jisoo said softly, a bright smile on her face. “Could you help hold this for me? I was going to take it back to the shed.”

 

“Oh, um, yeah, no problem,” I said distractedly, taking the orange cones from her.

 

She started up the stairs, her hand signalling for me to come with her.

 

I blinked. This wasn’t where I wanted this conversation to go.

 

I followed her up the stairs, jogging lightly up the stairs to catch up beside her.

 

“So…how have you been?”

 

“Oh, uhm, okay, I guess.”

 

She hummed in response. “Ready to do 40 problems of integrals for homework?”

 

I groaned at the mention of it. “Oh god, don’t remind me.”

 

She laughed—a clear, bright sound that seemed too pure for the world to hear.

 

And so we talked. The topics varied from what movies we had watched this weekend to the latest gossip on how the chemistry teacher, Mr. Forbes, was apparently supposed to retire this year, but supposedly stayed because his wife had decided to divorce him last minute. It was so natural, so carefree, that I had nearly forgotten about what I had been planning to do since the morning.

 

Nearly.

 

“Hey, so, uhm, you remember that party on Friday…?” I trailed off nervously, setting the cones down on the dusty wooden floor of the school shed.

 

“Of course,” she laughed bemusedly. “You were convincing me you weren’t drunk?”

 

I winced in embarrassment.

 

“Yeah, that one. Well, I lost my necklace that night. It looks like—”

 

“A silver key?”

 

I snapped my head up. “Yeah. How’d you know?”

 

She shrugged. “You lost it?”

 

“Yeah…and you know, since you were the last person I saw that night, I was wondering if you…”

 

“Took it?” she asked, with a raised eyebrow.

 

“No, no, no,” I hurriedly responded, panic flooding my mind. “Nothing like that. Just…seen it around, maybe?”

 

She shook her head.

 

I looked at her carefully. “‘Really? Not even like…a person? Or anything?”

 

She shook her head again. “Sorry, Jennie. I wish I could be of more help.”

 

“Ah…it’s okay.”

 

“Is it important to you?”

 

“I mean, yeah. Kind of. But it’s alright. I’ll figure something out.”

 

I snuck a look at her from my kneeling position, still pretending to organize the cones. She was looking at me, yet her eyes seemed to be seeing nothing. She looked so focused, I could practically see the gears turning in her brain, her mind thinking about who knows what.

 

It was so drastically different from what I was used to seeing, that I nearly couldn’t recognize her anymore.

 

“Jisoo?”

 

She hummed briefly in response, her eyes still seemingly out of focus, as if she were deep in thought.

 

“Hey,” I said a bit louder. “Jisoo.”

 

That’s when she snapped, her eyes suddenly looking up at me with her typical expression of innocence and purity.

 

“Are you, uhm, okay?”

 

“Yeah, yeah,” she nodded, getting up from the bench, dusting her pants off in the process. “Just thinking.”

 

We started back down the stairs toward the locker room, making the same small talk. However, the atmosphere was different from when we had first went up to the shed. There seemed to be an invisible wall, the conversation not flowing as naturally anymore. No one else would’ve been able to sense it—it was too subtle to comment on, but most definitely there.

 

When we arrived at the locker room, Jisoo turned towards me, stopping in her steps.

 

“Thanks for helping me back there,” she said warmly. Her tone didn’t seem to reach her eyes.

 

“I hope you’ll be able to find your grandmother’s necklace soon.”

 

I thanked her with a smile, and we went our separate ways to our respective lockers.

 

It took a few minutes before I realized what was wrong.

 


	4. Accident

Something wasn’t adding up.

 

There was _definitely_ something weird going on with Kim Jisoo, and I couldn’t figure it out for the _life_ of me. Apparently, there had been a permanent scowl etched on my face during my time in the locker room, which I inferred from three different people asking me if I was okay.

 

I slung my white towel over my shoulder as I plodded my way from the showers, still wringing out water from my damp hair. The room was essentially empty at this time, due to my late arrival and 10 minute shower. I changed quickly into my normal clothes, throwing the PE uniform into my locker.

 

I was just about to leave with my backpack slung across my right shoulder when a familiar soft voice rang in the empty room.

 

“Where is it?”

 

I nearly dropped my phone out of surprise, fumbling with it like an idiot as I swiveled around to find Jisoo, already changed into her casual wear, leaning against a locker with her arms folded.

 

“W-what?” I managed to find my voice, my heart still beating a mile a minute. I had been so sure I was the only one in the locker rooms so late in the day. Plus, I hadn’t heard a single _footstep_ in the room either, which was strange considering its vastness and tendency to echo.

 

“Where is it?” she repeated, a strangely calm expression on her face. It wasn’t weird because she was calm; Jisoo was always calm. But it was a _weird_ calm.

 

“Where is what?” I frowned, confused out of my mind.

 

Her eyes narrowed just the slightest, her expression hardening.

 

“Don’t play stupid. I know you have it. Where is it?”

 

I was bewildered at this point, but I was simultaneously scared out of my wits—I wasn’t used to seeing a serious expression on her. Panicking slightly, my instincts told me I couldn’t let the inner dialogue of my mind show on my face.

 

Putting on my best poker face, I tried to say “I don’t know what you’re talking about” as firmly and as confidently as I could, which in all honesty wasn’t all too difficult because it wasn’t even a lie.

 

I carefully scanned Jisoo’s expression. Externally, it was blank—like a wall had been put up, and no emotion could penetrate its force. But at the same time, I could see her _thinking_ —but I just couldn’t figure out _what_. I knew she was feeling _something_ , and I knew she was contemplating _something_ —I just didn’t know what those goddamn _somethings_ were.

 

Believe me when I say it is singularly the most unnerving thing I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s like looking at something that you can’t figure out—and everyone knows mankind’s greatest fear is fear of the unknown.

 

“You…don’t know?” she asked, eyebrow raised, as she slowly lifted her shoulder from the locker door and steadily closed the distance between us.

 

Alarms went off in my head, which I (oh so intelligently) ignored.

 

“I….no, I don’t.” I spoke firmly, my voice quivering faintly.

 

Jisoo’s eyes remained locked onto mine as she got closer and closer.

 

“You realize that you’re playing with fire here, don’t you, Jennie?” her voice still ridiculously soft, so much so that I had to strain my ears to hear her.

 

“Careful,” her voice hardening ever so slightly. “We don’t want another _accident_ , do we? Especially not a…oh, I don’t know,” Jisoo paused, pretending to think. “A heart attack?”

 

I felt my poker face collapse completely, my wall crumbling at her words. Its already weak foundation had shattered into pieces.

 

A crooked smile rose to her face, as if my face were transparent and she could see my mind frantically go into a thousand different directions from that single sentence.

 

“Mm,” she hummed. “That’s what I thought.”

 

“Tomorrow. The shed. 3 PM. Don’t be late,” she said in her painfully paradoxical gentle voice.

 

“Oh, and don’t forget _it_ either,” she smiled brightly.

 

And with that, she turned around, casually striding out the door as if it had been any other Monday.

 


	5. Heart Attack

I had already mentioned previously that my grandmother had passed away three years ago at the age of 93, leaving me with the necklace and a bank vault that I was only permitted to open the day I turned 18.

 

Of course, I was devastated after her death—while my parents never mistreated me, they were much too busy to pay too much attention to me either. My grandmother became the maternal figure in my life, always having time for when my parents would drop me off at her house for me to stay with her during their week long business trips.

 

On December 25, she was reported to have passed of a heart attack in her sleep—and no one questioned it at all.

 

You may now be able to see why I was a bit shaken by Jisoo’s words.

 

As the sound of her footsteps faded away, I sank down into a sitting position, leaning the back of my head against the locker. My mind was whirling from the shock of the encounter, and I struggled to breathe properly.

 

It couldn’t be a coincidence—I was sure of it.

 

But there were too many things I didn’t understand. How did Jisoo know about my grandmother? How was she connected to my grandmother’s death, if the two were connected at all?

 

And what was the baffling _it_ she kept going on about?

 

There was too much to think about all at once, so I decided to get home first. I’d figure everything out then. Hopefully.

 

I slowly stood up, once again slinging my backpack over my shoulder, and made my way to the exit door, paying careful attention to my surroundings. Popping my head slightly out the door, I looked left and right, looking to see if Jisoo was still here. Cautiously, I began to walk quietly but quickly outside, paranoid that she would jump out of the bushes or something. One could never really be too careful, especially in the strange circumstances I found myself in.

 

Driving on the way home, I couldn’t stop thinking about my grandmother.

 

Jisoo was too smart with her words for that comment to be a coincidence. She knew something about my grandmother’s death.

 

And if my suspicions were true, my grandmother’s death _wasn't_ supposed to happen.

 

I was still slightly uncertain—there was a chance I was looking into things too deeply. However, Jisoo’s previous remark on my necklace being from my grandmother verified my hunch that there was something more to it.

 

I let out a shaky breath.

 

My intuition told me my grandmother’s death wasn’t meant to happen.

 

She shouldn’t have died.

 

* * *

 

Slamming the door, I entered the house, mind even more confused than before I drove home.

 

As much as I wanted to get to the bottom of my grandmother’s death, an issue still remained.

 

“ _Tomorrow. The shed. 3 PM. Don’t be late,_ ” she had said.

 

“ _Oh. Don’t forget it either._ ”

 

What the hell was _it_? Frankly, the only thing that could come up in my mind was a creepy clown with a red balloon, but I doubted that was what she was looking for.

 

And, bluntly speaking, shouldn’t _I_ have been the one asking that question? After all, my necklace was still missing—and at this point, I was beyond certain that Jisoo had something to do with it, since all strange and unfortunate events seemed to lead up to _her_.

 

_It._

 

I bit my lip. My instinct told me that finding out exactly what this it was was vital, and I would be in for some _real deep shit_ if I didn’t figure it out. The one thing I knew for certain was that Jisoo wasn’t just a normal student—and I had a feeling she could do something _very very_ bad if I didn’t show up tomorrow at the shed, 3PM sharp, with the cursed _thing_.

 

Why couldn’t she have been more specific?

 

_“You…don’t know?” she asked, eyebrow raised. “You realize that you’re playing with fire here, don’t you, Jennie?”_

 

Why had she said this _it_ like it was something I should know? In fact, she had said it like I had purposefully _done_ something, as if _it_ was this inside joke that we were both in on.

 

The problem was that one of us didn’t know the joke—which would be _me_.

 

I couldn’t show up tomorrow at that shed empty handed. That left me with only one other option: not showing up at all.

 

But, she had also said not to be late, and I had a gut feeling that the remark had come with a silent, unmentioned " _or else_ ”.

 

I had two options.

 

Show up empty handed. Or don’t show up at all.

 

Both had a very probable chance that something very very bad would happen to me as a consequence.

 

By midnight, I had made my decision.

 


	6. Meeting

There were a few minutes before the bell would ring to signal the beginning of first period when I walked toward my locker. Adjusting the numbers on my lock, I saw Rose approaching me from the corner of my eye.

 

“Hey, have you seen Lisa?”

 

I snorted. “Shouldn’t  _ I  _ be asking this question, considering the fact that you guys are practically tied at the hip 24/7?”

 

“Yeah, but I haven’t seen her this morning, and we usually meet up before first period to walk together,” she frowned.

 

“Maybe she’s sick,” I mumbled distractedly, still preoccupied with opening my locker which appeared to be stuck.

 

“No, no, no, she’d text me first though,” Rose said absentmindedly, her brows furrowed.

 

“Aha,” I grinned with satisfaction, finally managing to pry the lock open. As I opened the locker, a newspaper article fell out onto the floor at my feet.

 

Bending down to pick it up, I turned it over to read the title.

 

“What the heck is this?” I frowned, as Rose leaned closer to me to look over my shoulder.

 

“Hey, isn’t this last week’s newspaper? The thing about the diamond.”

 

“I mean, yeah, but why is it here? Who even uses newspapers anymore?”

 

“Don’t make fun of my grandpa,” Rose said, feigning anger.

 

I laughed. “But seriously, though.”

 

She shrugged. “I don’t know, someone slid it into your locker, I guess.”

 

“Why in the world would someone do that?” I frowned. But immediately, my mind went to a possible candidate to which recently I had been able to pin most of my problems to.

 

“Let’s go, Jennie, we’re going to be late to first period,” Rose pulled me by the arm, already starting to walk towards history class.

 

“B-But—” I hastily slammed my locker closed and clumsily inserted the lock into the hole, clutching the newspaper in my fingers while Rose dragged me along.

 

All throughout first period, I couldn’t bring myself to pay attention to the teacher’s lecture on World War I.

 

I was 99% certain Jisoo had slid the newspaper in my locker before school.

 

The question was why?

 

* * *

  
  


Trust me when I say I dreaded the moment when the last school bell had rung, signalling the end of school. For most, it was only a symbol of joy and freedom, a chance to escape from the terrifying clutches of the education system. I, on most other days, would be part of that majority.

 

Today was not that day.

 

Ever since the day I was born, fortune and luck would prove more often than not that they were never by my side when I needed them to be, which was evident in the fact that I shared sixth period, the  _ very last period of school _ , with Kim Jisoo. 

 

Due to this unfortunate situation, I knew that regardless of my ridiculous cowardice, there was no way I was going to get away with  _ not  _ meeting her at the shed after school by 3 PM sharp. 

 

The problem was that at this point, I still had no idea what the  _ it _ was. Which was why I came prepared.

 

Or rather, as prepared as a 17 year old girl can be. I fingered the pepper spray in the back pocket of my jeans, where it was easily accessible without being too obvious and discernible.

 

I had toyed with the idea of bring a kitchen knife to school, which was the only other thing I could find in our house that would be at least somewhat helpful in a dangerous situation, but I couldn’t help but feel rather ridiculous brandishing a light blue kitchen appliance as a weapon.

 

I stood up from the bench of the locker room after a silent pep talk in my mind, along with a run over of how the meeting would play out. Jisoo would ask for the stupid  _ it _ , and all she would get would be a massive spray in the face of extremely acidic pepper. 

 

Indeed, it was the perfect plan.

 

I eyed a couple of rows down to where Jisoo’s locker was. It was locked, with the owner nowhere to be seen—no doubt she was already at the shed. 

 

After checking my back pocket for the nth time that day, I slung my backpack over my shoulder and walked out the door to the direction of the shed.

 

* * *

 

At the last few stairs before reaching the top, I peeked upwards in search for her.

 

Strangely, I found no one.

 

Feeling slightly braver, I stepped to the top, continuing to look around. I frowned, glancing at my watch on my left wrist. 

 

3:00 PM. Sharp.

 

“You’re on time, don’t worry.”

 

I jumped, and whipped around to find Jisoo leaning against a pole with her arms crossed, looking as neat and sophisticated as ever, like she hadn’t just spent the past hour jogging on the track with the rest of us.

 

“So?” she removed her back from the pole, holding her hand out expectantly. “Where is it?”

 

“I…” I stuttered, forgetting the scripted lines I had rehearsed over a hundred times the night before.

 

“You…” she raised an eyebrow.

 

I conspicuously slid my hand down to my back pocket, before realizing in panic that I could not trace the cylindrical tube that had been in my pocket only a few moments ago.

 

“Oh, that?” Jisoo gave a crooked grin. “You really ought to be more careful.”

 

She fished out the black pepper spray from her own back pocket, shaking it slightly as if in a mocking way.

 

“I respect the attempt. But you failed,” she spoke in a sickeningly soft tone. “Now where is it?”

 

This, my friends, was what I liked to call, very much  _ not part of the plan. _

 

Before I knew it, my heart was racing at a million beats a minute, and my stomach was churning in a way that made me want to puke. Fear is a difficult feeling to describe when you are not the one experiencing it. I would also like to say that it is also difficult to justify my next actions by anything other than the pure terror I had felt knowing my one and only weapon (the pepper spray) was in my enemy’s hands.

 

Without warning, I sprinted down the path to the right, almost comically, I would like to say. It mimicked that of a cartoon scene where both opponents are frozen, until the dumber of the two decides their poor heart can’t take the pressure and blasts off into the distance with a smoke trail following their feet.

 

Guess who was the dumber of the two.

 

Immediately, I could hear Jisoo curse and race behind me.

 

Out of the many reasons why my decision was a very poorly made one, the most obvious one was that my running was not the best, nor was my athleticism or agility in general. This meant that according to my extremely complex calculations, there was approximately a zero percent chance that I could outrun the girl who just so happened to be on the school’s track team. 

 

I also had no idea where this path was taking me, seeing as I had never even approached the shed area in general until yesterday when Jisoo had asked for my help with the cones. 

 

Before long, I sensed Jisoo catching up to me, and as much as I would like to say she did it slowly but surely, we all know it was  _ very  _ quickly, and  _ very  _ surely.

 

I knew I couldn’t outrun her—and so I decided not to. 

 

I allowed her to close up on me until I could practically feel her breath on my neck, in which I suddenly skidded to a stop as abruptly as I could with my mediocre mobility, while sticking out my right foot slightly. Amazingly, my plan had gone as I had hoped, and Jisoo tripped face down into the dirt path, sliding unceremoniously until clouds of dust fogged up both of our visions so that neither of us could see within a two feet radius. 

 

Fighting the urge to applaud myself for finally executing a plan that had worked, I raced down the opposite way back to the shed with an even greater vigor and speed than I had ever known I could have possessed. Nearly cackling, I could finally see the faint outline of the building in the midst of the dust, and I breathed an internal sigh of relief when I looked back to see no one. 

 

Then, I fell. 

 

In my adrenaline filled sprint, I had tripped over an unknown object right before making it to the shed and had  skidded to the ground, feeling the sharp rocks embed themselves in my legs and hands. 

 

I cursed my own cockiness. 

 

Before I could get back up however, I felt rough hands grab me by the back of my shirt and haul me forcefully until my back hit a hard surface.

 

“Don’t move.”

 

I groaned in pain, before the voice began to register in my mind.

 

Bewildered, I looked up to see none other than Lisa Manoban glaring down at me.


End file.
